The first humanoid kicked aside the metal chair by the door and lunged at Bai Zhu.
Two meters from the blade, its body scattered apart on its own.
The golden particles split into three streams. One crawled along the floor, one slipped into the cracks in the wall, and the last rushed into the ventilation duct.
The remaining six Skinbags stepped over the broken door and sealed off the cultivation room's exit.
The research supervisor's face sank into its chest, the guard captain's face shifted onto its shoulder, and the transporter's face clung to its back. Dozens of mouths opened and closed at once.
"We found you."
Bai Zhu held his blade crosswise in front of Unma.
"Get back."
Unma gripped the master control key, her gaze still fixed on the console.
"This is my laboratory."
Bai Zhu stared at the points of light in the corridor.
"Then stop just standing there."
Two humanoids pressed in from either side, the black shadows trailing behind them reaching the floor first.
Bai Zhu did not immediately swing his blade.
Reiatsu poured into the blade, and a crimson line of fire rose along its edge.
The fire was not the Zanpakuto's own power. It was a killing edge he had forcibly drawn out by compressing Kidō into the blade.
The thermometer climbed rapidly.
Sixty degrees.
Ninety degrees.
One hundred and thirty degrees.
If not for the thin film of Reiatsu protecting her, Unma would probably have been roasted by now.
Bubbles rose in the culture fluid, and dozens of cultivation pods activated their protection protocols simultaneously.
Metal protective layers rose from beneath the pods, sealing the infants inside separate containers. Transport rails dragged those containers toward the underground quarantine zone.
Unma pressed a hand against the console.
"The protective layers won't hold for